


Small Comfort

by RyuuNoYuki



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Angst and Feels, Drabble, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Inspired by Doujinshi, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 23:11:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14175402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuuNoYuki/pseuds/RyuuNoYuki
Summary: While imprisoned, the thief king has a pale visitor. Angsty little drabblefic.





	Small Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Rights to Yu-Gi-Oh belong to Kazuki Takahashi and others. No monetary gain comes from this fan work.  
> Originally posted to ff.net and the YGO Drabble LJ community on 2/11/13. Reposted for AO3 with minor edits.  
> Word Prompt: "Risk"  
> Warnings: Pre-canon, slight gore/violence, implied torture. The following drabble is inspired by the R-rated doujinshi titled _Gross Darkness_ , by Kaneda Goen/Goendama and scanlated to English by _Something-Or-Other Scanlations._

Even on the darkest nights, those with no moon, he could still see the pale shape gliding across the floor of his cell. Faint starlight coming from the barred window near the ceiling seemed to be enough to light its hide, or perhaps it was so white it cast its own luminescence.

The first night it appeared in the sand, he thought perhaps his fever had brought strange visions to his eyes. He rolled over on the wooden plank that served as the cell’s bed to look closer. The deep wound in his side throbbed like a lightning strike, a constant reminder that he was too weak to escape this prison. For now.

The pale form slid nearer with the sound of scales on the sandy floor, a sound like a soft sigh. A wedge-shaped head rose up on the end of a lithe body, until level with his own. Two dark pits regarded him. "Have you come to keep me company? How funny. It's your fault I'm in here," he mused aloud to the creature, without ire.

This white snake—or perhaps one just like it—had caused the king of thieves to stumble as he fled the royal tomb. Not because he didn’t see it. The simple creature had been easy to spot in the moonlight as he ran from the palace guards. Without a thought he had dodged around it, changed direction so the guards wouldn't hit it with their hurled weapons or crush it as they gave chase. It was such a small thing, just a second's fleeting choice, but as a lance pierced his side and he fell, he knew that risk had cost him.

Still, the thief could not begrudge this animal. They were alike. Pale, despised creatures of the night. Hated by all. Trying to survive.

During the daylight hours, when his captors came to torture him, playing with his body and taunting him with the knowledge of his upcoming execution, the thief king suffered in silence. But each night his companion would return. The snake slipped up the plank and curled around his body, a warm pulse of life in the cold, dead air of the prison. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless as the thief king waited for his death.

~.~.~

In the end, it was the snake who gave the thief king new chance at life. But he couldn’t rejoice. All he could do was fall to his knees on the floor of the cell, staring in horror. All he could see was the lifeless shreds of blood and flesh and scale littering the stone. All he could hear was the mocking laughter of the guard who had ripped the helpless creature in half before his eyes.

And then all he could feel was rage.

Strength he hadn't felt in months flooded into his body. His wound was forgotten. His _Ka_ flared to life around him, a shadow that filled the cold air of the cell, surging forward. The guard didn't have time to scream as the dark form sliced him cleanly in half. Two hulks of meat landed on the floor amidst the small smears of blood already there. Dark red entrails and blood-stained linens fell and covered the little corpse like a small mercy.

Panting, the thief slumped to the side, his power spent. After a moment he raised his head and slowly shook pale hair out of his eyes. His gaze fell on the cell door, just slightly ajar. The rage had left him; he felt only tired now, and sad.

Then the thief king could feel something pulse in his chest, a _Ka_ he had never felt before. A small comfort. The air around him lit momentarily with a soft, white glow.

"You're still here?" he whispered, somehow getting to his feet. He stepped forward, shoved at the cell door, began to limp to his freedom. "Stay with me," he said to the still cold air.

"I'll name you Diabound."


End file.
